Ohio Authorities Release Facial Reconstruction of Man Whose Skeletal Remains Were Found Over 35 Years Ago

This clay model reconstruction of a man whose skeletal remains were found in Twinsburg, Ohio in 1982 was released by the Ohio Attorney General's Office yesterday. The model was created by a forensic artist with the Attorney General's Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. (Photo: Courtesy of the Ohio Attorney General's Office)

Authorities are seeking the public’s help in identifying skeletal remains discovered in a wooded area of Twinsburg more than 35 years ago.

The Ohio Attorney General’s Office, Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office and Twinsburg police on Monday unveiled a forensic clay model of the victim’s face, saying they hope the facial reconstruction will finally solve the decades-old mystery.

“It would be nice to provide closure to him and the family members,” detective Sgt. Craig Bremner said. “That’s the main goal here.”

The mystery began after two workmen dumping asphalt behind a factory along Cannon Road found a human skull sticking up from a melting snowbank on Feb. 18, 1982.

Animals apparently had dug up the remains from a shallow grave. More bones, weathered and cracked, later were found in plastic garbage bags.

At the time, authorities, stumped by the discovery, sent the skeleton to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., for analysis.

The victim is believed to be a black man in his late 20s or early 30s who may have died from a shotgun blast, a blow from a blunt object or a stabbing to the head. He had a muscular build and was about 5 feet 6 inches.